Every so often in our True Crime Tuesday series, we'll be taking a look at a story that actually never found a resolution. That's exactly the case with our deep dive this week, as we rake over the details surrounding the disappearance of Russell Bohling.
According to the information available online, Bohling was quite secretive in the days leading to his disappearance, on March 2nd, 2010. Three days before, he had left home and then returned without informing anybody of where he had been, or what he had been doing. Investigations later found he'd visited York, Bradford and Bridlington, but exactly what he did whilst in those locations was never discovered.
Bohling was last seen leaving the family home at West Ella to attend Bishop Burton College in Beverley. There, he studied bricklaying, but later that day his car was found 45 miles away at Bempton Cliffs. This location is close to a former Royal Air Force bunker on the East Yorkshire coast, which was quickly checked for a living human only - something the Bohling family criticised, as a corpse wouldn't have been identified in the search.
It took over two years for firefighters to go back and conduct a more detailed search (in December 2012), with the Bohling family present throughout the full three hour exercise. The family had to pay £1,200 for the bunker to be reopened, following its closure for illegal use. Nothing of note was found.
In August and September 2010, police thought they may have found evidence of Bohling being killed, as two human feet were found on the banks of the Humber Estuary. One was encased in a brown, steel-capped boot, similar to those which the family say were missing from his possessions. After further investigation however, a connection between the feet and Bohling was ruled out.
Exactly what Bohling was doing at Bempton Cliffs remains a mystery. Police suspected he had gone there to take his own life, as the area was a suicide hotspot, but a body never washed ashore. His parents did all they could to help, with his father Roger Bohling even giving up his own personal computer to police, which would later see him charged with the possession of child pornography. Despite his criminal behaviour, there have been no suggestions or reports that Bohling's father had anything to do with his disappearance.
One of the strangest elements of this story is the history of the bunker, which was used by a cult in the 1970s and now houses erotic and satanic artwork. Bohling's father says his son was interested in this history, and had information, as well as pictures of the artwork, on a USB stick. That USB was never found during searches.
Bohling showed a history of suicidal thought when the police discovered a tape that he had recorded three years prior to his disappearance. This pushed authorities to believe that he had indeed killed himself, and that they had simply been unlucky in trying to find a corpse. Bohling's family however insist that a third party must have been involved in his disappearance.
They point to Bohling's debit card not being used and his small amount of cash being indicative of someone else being with Bohling when he drove to Bempton because, after recreating the journeys he undertook, they ran out of fuel at Brandesburton which is 20 miles short of the final destination.
Having been missing for almost a decade, we just hope that the Bohling family will eventually be given the closure they need. With an inquest now set to take place later this year, let's hope some answers are found.
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